The bill does include the “Combating” term that is the topic of controversy. This is contrary to what I wrote in my previous article on the reauthorization.

There are not two legislatively appointed representatives to the IACC as previously reported but four. Two from the House. Two from the Senate.

There is a strong emphasis on focusing on adult autistics. Consider the last section “REPORT TO CONGRESS ON DEMOGRAPHICS AND NEEDS OF ADULTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER”

Much as I desperately would love to see this work done, I do not generally support legislative mandated research. This is a report to congress to inform them on an area which, frankly, they need to hear about.

The demographics and needs of autistic adults is a huge hole in the body of knowledge we have about autism. And while politically active groups are wasting their time and money on congressional hearings to validate their failed views on vaccines,

—
By Matt Carey
note: I serve as a public member to the IACC but all comments and views here and elsewhere are my own.

text of the proposed bill:

A BILL

To reauthorize certain provisions of the Public Health Service Act
relating to autism, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Combating Autism Reauthorization Act
of 2014”.

SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF PROGRAMS RELATING TO AUTISM.

(a) National Autism Spectrum Disorder Initiative.–Part R of title
III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280i et seq.) is
amended–
(1) by redesignating sections 399AA through 399EE as
sections 399BB through 399FF, respectively; and
(2) by inserting before section 399BB, as redesignated, the
following:

“SEC. 399AA. NATIONAL AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER INITIATIVE.

“(a) Establishment.–For the purposes described in subsection (b),
the Secretary shall designate an official within the Department of
Health and Human Services to establish and oversee a National Autism
Spectrum Disorder Initiative (in this section referred to as the
`Initiative’).
“(b) Purposes.–The purposes of the Initiative shall be–
“(1) to implement a strategic plan for the conduct of, and
support for, autism spectrum disorder research, taking into
account the strategic plan developed by the Interagency Autism
Coordinating Committee under section 399DD(b); and
“(2) to ensure that autism spectrum disorder research
programs and activities of the Department of Health and Human
Services are not unnecessarily duplicative of other Federal
research programs and activities.”.
(b) Developmental Disabilities Surveillance and Research Program.–
Section 399BB of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280i), as
redesignated, is amended–
(1) in subsection (a), by inserting “for children and
adults” after “reporting of State epidemiological data”;
(2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking “establishment of
regional centers of excellence” and inserting “establishment
or support of regional centers of excellence”;
(3) in subsection (b)(2), by striking “center to be
established” and inserting “center to be established or
supported”; and
(4) in subsection (e), by striking “2014” and inserting
“2019”.
(c) Autism Education, Early Detection, and Intervention.–Section
399CC(g) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280i-1), as
redesignated, is amended by striking “2014” and inserting “2019”.
(d) Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee.–
(1) Appointment of members by congressional leaders.–
Section 399DD(c)(1) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
280i-2(c)(1)), as redesignated, is amended–
(A) in subparagraph (D), by striking “and” at the
end;
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as
subparagraph (I); and
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the
following:
“(E) one member appointed by the Speaker of the
House of Representatives;
“(F) one member appointed by the majority leader
of the Senate;
“(G) one member appointed by the minority leader
of the House of Representatives;
“(H) one member appointed by the minority leader
of the Senate; and”.
(2) Preventing duplication.–Section 399DD(b) of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280i-2(b)), as redesignated, is
amended–
(A) in paragraph (5), by striking “and” at the
end;
(B) by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph
(7); and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following:
“(6) include in such strategic plan recommendations to
ensure that autism spectrum disorder research programs and
activities of the Department of Health and Human Services are
not unnecessarily duplicative of other Federal research
programs and activities; and”.
(3) Extension of sunset provision.–Section 399DD(f) of the
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280i-2), as redesignated,
is amended by striking “2014” and inserting “2019”.
(e) Report to Congress.–Section 399EE of the Public Health Service
Act (42 U.S.C. 280i-3), as redesignated, is amended–
(1) in subsection (a), by striking “Combating Autism
Reauthorization Act of 2011” and inserting “Combating Autism
Reauthorization Act of 2014”; and
(2) in subsection (b)–
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking “provisions of
the Combating Autism Act of 2006” and inserting
“provisions of this part, section 404H, and section
409C”;
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking “provisions of
Combating Autism Act of 2006” and inserting
“provisions of this part, section 404H, and section
409C”;
(C) in paragraph (3), by striking “Combating
Autism Act of 2006” and inserting “Combating Autism
Reauthorization Act of 2011”;
(D) in paragraphs (4) and (5), by striking “over
the 6-year period beginning on” each place it appears
and inserting “since”;
(E) in paragraph (8), by striking “and” at the
end;
(F) in paragraph (9), by striking the period at the
end and inserting “; and”; and
(G) by adding at the end the following:
“(10) a description of the actions taken to implement, and
the progress made on implementation, of the strategic plan
developed by the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee.”.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.–Section 399FF of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280i-4), as redesignated, is amended–
(1) in subsection (a)–
(A) by striking “399AA” and inserting “399BB”;
and
(B) by striking “fiscal years 2012 through 2014”
and inserting “fiscal years 2015 through 2019”;
(2) in subsection (b)–
(A) by striking “399BB” and inserting “399CC”;
and
(B) by striking “fiscal years 2011 through 2014”
and inserting “fiscal years 2015 through 2019”; and
(3) in subsection (c)–
(A) by striking “399CC” and inserting “399DD”;
and
(B) by striking “$161,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2011 through 2014” and inserting “$190,000,000
for each of fiscal years 2015 through 2019”.

SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON DEMOGRAPHICS AND NEEDS OF ADULTS WITH
AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER.

(a) In General.–Not later than 24 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States
shall complete a study and submit to the Congress a report on the
demographics and needs, if any, of individuals in the United States
with an autism spectrum disorder (in this section referred to as
“ASD”).
(b) Issues To Be Addressed.–The study and report under subsection
(a) shall–
(1) address the demographics of individuals with ASD making
the transition from a school-based support system to adulthood;
(2) address the needs, if any, of adults with ASD with
respect to–
(A) community integration;
(B) housing and residential supports;
(C) employment;
(D) transportation;
(E) vocational training and rehabilitation;
(F) continued education;
(G) health care and social services;
(H) speech therapy;
(I) public safety; and
(J) day habilitation activities, including those to
provide a safe, respectful, and stimulating environment
that allows participants to become active members of
their community;
(3) provide an overview of Federal, State, and local
government policies and programs, and any available private
(including private nonprofit) sector assistance, for addressing
the needs identified in paragraph (2); and
(4) provide policy recommendations to–
(A) improve outcomes for adults with ASD making the
transition from a school-based support system to
adulthood;
(B) enhance the effectiveness of the policies,
programs, and assistance described in paragraph (3);
(C) ensure integration of and collaboration among
services for addressing the needs of adults with ASD;
and
(D) encourage independent living, equal
opportunity, full participation, and economic self-
sufficiency.
(c) Survey.–
(1) In general.–In carrying out this section, the
Comptroller General shall conduct a survey of public and
private sector stakeholders on–
(A) the needs, if any, of adults with ASD;
(B) the services and resources available for
addressing such needs; and
(C) the effectiveness of such services and
resources.
(2) Stakeholders.–The stakeholders to be surveyed under
paragraph (1) include the following:
(A) Individuals from the business community
representing both large and small businesses.
(B) Institutions of higher education, community
colleges, vocational schools, and university centers
for excellence in developmental disabilities.
(C) Social service providers, including case
management experts and health care providers.
(D) Vocational rehabilitation experts.
(E) State and local housing departments and
nonprofit organizations that provide housing services
for individuals with disabilities.
(F) Individuals with ASD, parents of individuals
with ASD, and representatives from advocacy groups that
focus on individuals with ASD.
(G) Officials or employees of the Federal
Government responsible for overseeing disability
services at each of the following departments and
agencies:
(i) The Department of Health and Human
Services, including the Administration for
Children and Families, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Health
Resources and Services Administration, and the
Administration for Community Living.
(ii) The Department of Education.
(iii) The Department of Housing and Urban
Development.
(iv) The Department of Labor.
(v) The Department of Justice.
(vi) The Department of Transportation.
(vii) Any other Federal departments and
agencies determined appropriate by the
Comptroller General.

IMFAR, the International Meeting for Autism Research, is held in the spring of each year. Which makes me wonder, did the people who organized this have to go through IEP meetings? I ask because IEP meetings are often are held at the end of the school year and include a lot of evaluations, making it difficult for a parent to attend a Spring research meeting? It isn’t a parent conference, so this is really just an observation.

IMFAR is the top science conference for autism. It is big and it is where a lot of new work is presented. The meeting will be held in May and the abstracts will be available May 1st. But the program, meaning the titles of the talks, are available now. I’ve just done a little browsing and found some talks which are likely to spark conversations. These may not be the talks which reflect the research most likely to impact the lives of autistics and the broader autism communities, but I suspect these will be interesting to the online parent community. For example, one doesn’t need the abstract to get the conclusion of this talk: No Differences in Early Immunization Rates Among Children with Typical Development and Autism Spectrum Disorders. This paper is by the U.C. Davis MIND Institute, which carries a lot of weight with the groups who promote the vaccine-induced autism-epidemic idea, so perhaps this will help to move the discussion forward from the vaccine-focus of the past decade. One can hope.

This session reviews the coexisting problems that usually exist in individuals with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. It concludes on the note that it is possibly these associated problems and disorders that often drive the poor outcome that so many people now almost take for granted will be a consequence of autism in the longer term perspective. Language disorders, intellectual developmental disorders, non-verbal learning disability, epilepsy, medical disorders such as tuberous sclerosis and fragile X syndrome, ADHD, and depression are often the “real” cause of negative outcome in autism. Many people in the general population have marked autistic features without major “lifetime impairment”. The focus on *autism only* in early intervention programs is most likely a mistake.

And you probably thought when I said there would be talks which would likely “spark conversations” online, I was just talking epidemiology and etiology.

While the development of a blood biomarker as a screening or diagnostic tool for autism spectrum disorders is of great interest to the scientific and medical communities, it is also attracting intense scrutiny from other stakeholders including people with autism, ethicists, and parents. This symposium will therefore address the scientific, ethical and social challenges associated with the development of biomarkers for autism, and provide an update on the current status of research in this field. We will describe how the heterogeneity of autism, gender bias, and potential comorbidities, could derail the promise of identifying objective, reliable, and universally accepted biomarkers. We will consider the ethical and social issues relating to the development of biomarkers for autism in order to identify and describe the implications for the ‘difference versus disability’ debate; as well as consider possible wider tensions of biomarker research in relation to issues such as pre-natal screening and reproductive choice, and identity and inclusion for individuals on the autistic spectrum. Finally, we will summarize the most promising research on blood biomarkers for autism, describing the required steps to take a putative biomarker from the ‘bench to the bedside’. This educational symposium brings together researchers from scientific, ethical and psychological disciplines to provide a unique perspective on the utility of biomarkers for ascertaining autism risk, aiding in diagnosis and identifying therapeutic targets, all within the framework of the relevant ethical and social considerations.

There is a large international focus, with research from India, China, South America and other areas usually under represented in research. Another keynote talk discusses this in terms of epidemiology: The Epidemiology of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Toward a More Inclusive World:

We live in an era of exciting advances in our awareness and understanding of autism spectrum disorder, but also a time of enormous global imbalance. Most of what is known about the epidemiology, genetics, clinical manifestation and course, treatment, and nearly every other aspect of autism is based on research in high income countries, where fewer than 10% of births occur and less than 20% of the population lives globally. This talk will describe opportunities to expand the horizons of autism epidemiology and service delivery to include the 80 to 90% of affected individuals and families who live in low and middle income countries, as well as those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged and living in high income countries. It will also describe some of the cultural and financial barriers to progress, and make a case for incorporating concepts of the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Disability and Functioning into the classification and epidemiology of autism spectrum disorder, with the ultimate goals to include not only primary prevention of autism but also enhancement of participation and social inclusion of people with autism spectrum disorder.

The population of adults with ASD is increasing rapidly, entering systems of healthcare and adult support that are already at capacity. Understanding the nature of ASD in adults, their unique needs, and availability of service options, is essential for resource planning and service development. Investigations into this period of life are increasing, but much remains unknown. This study examines adult outcomes for a large, population-based sample of adults identified as children in the 1980’s. Outcomes of interest concern diagnostic presentation, functional abilities, co-occurring medical and psychiatric conditions, social functioning, independence, service use, and access to services. Overall, outcomes for this sample were consistent with what has been reported for similar samples, yet there were notable differences in factors contributing to outcomes compared to what has been reported for other groups. Our findings support the importance of a range of accessible healthcare and support service options for adults with ASD. Detailed analyses are underway to investigate patterns leading to specific outcomes for subgroups of the population of adults with ASD.

I would have written that abstract a bit differently, but I am very appreciative that this session is being held.

Two years ago, I was able to attend IMFAR with the help of an Autism Science Foundation grant. I really wish I was able to attend this one. There looks to be a great deal of interesting research being discussed.

Located at the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, the Karmazin and Lillard Chair in Adult Autism will pay for research and training future professionals to work in the growing field.

I find it very encouraging that the donors are parents of adolescent autistics.

As many of you know, there is little information about the changing needs of adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) to guide those planning programs and services. That is why the UJA Federation of New York and the Autism Science Foundation are asking adults with ASD (and their parents or guardians) to complete a survey addressing what is going well in daily life, and what is a challenge. The results of this survey will inform decision making with regard to which programs should be expanded and which may no longer be of value.

We invite you to take this survey by joining the Interactive Autism Network (IAN)—the world’s largest online autism research project—and then completing the UJA Adult with ASD Survey. As a member of IAN, you’ll be informed about future surveys and studies, with a chance to provide ongoing input regarding the experience of adults with ASD over time.

Your participation is critical, and will inform those planning programs about which resources and services adults with ASD and their families need most.

Eligibility for Study Participation:

You are eligible to participate in IAN and the UJA Adult with ASD Survey if you are:

An 18-35 year old adult with ASD who is independent (that is, you are not under anyone’s legal guardianship)
The parent of an independent 18-35 year old adult with ASD (that is, your adult son or daughter with ASD is not under legal guardianship and maintains the right to make their own medical and legal decisions)
The legally authorized representative of a dependent 18-35 year old adult with ASD (For example, you may have legal guardianship or medical power of attorney for the adult with ASD)
Participation Details:

IAN registration and this survey can be completed entirely online and will take approximately 20 minutes.

If you’d like to read the IAN Research study consent form, including privacy policies, before continuing, click here:

A family of an autistic young adult have accused caregivers of abuse after secretly recording video. In apparently pretrial hearings, the mother explains what she saw. The defense causes her of withholding information.

Earlier this week the IACC met via conference call to finalize the Strategic Plan updates for 2012. A 2-day workshop on the updates had to be cancelled due to hurricane Sandy. Below are just a few fragments of discussions that occurred during the meeting.

The meeting started with a discussion of whether the IACC should issue a statement following the speculation that the shooter at Newtown Connecticut was autistic. Such a statement has been prepared and will be released shortly.

One public comment noted the lack of support for a family trying to navigate the extra hurdles a family with disabilities faced following Sandy. Some of the federal members noted that there are resources specifically focused on vulnerable populations. I am trying to get more specifics on that now.

Each question of the Plan was discussed and modified, sometimes with word smithing and sometimes with more extensive edits. The question on treatments in particular had a great deal of discussion and edits were prepared real-time by OARC staff. There is a good team supporting IACC and it was impressive to see them continue to keep making notes on the discussion while preparing significant edits for approval during the call.

One question that came up during the discussions was that of immigrant populations and autism prevalence. There has been much discussion of the Somali-American community and autism and Idil Abdul spoke of the concerns of that community. Two studies had come out in then past year, one from Sweden and one from the Netherlands, suggesting higher autism prevalence for immigrant communities in those countries. This highlights the fact that we don’t have autism prevalence data for most of the world. To my knowledge there are a few from northern Africa, possibly none from sub-Saharan Africa and South America, little or none from south Asia.

The UK adult autism prevalence study was discussed and the fact that little is known about the adult population in the U.S..

Obviously much more was discussed in the whole day meeting. Much of that can be found in the draft documents linked to above.

—
By Matt Carey

Note: I serve as a public member to the IACC but my comments here and elsewhere are my own.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the community of Newtown, Connecticut today in the wake of yesterday’s tragedy. Some public comments have drawn potentially inaccurate and stigmatizing conclusions about a link between the diagnosis and a propensity for violence and lack of empathy

The statement goes on, including ” As adults with autism living productive, peaceful lives, we urge the media and professionals who participate in speculative interviews about the motives of the accused shooter to refrain from misleading comments about autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities”

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